Health Gateway Program  

At Tutu's House

“Exploring health information on the Internet"

Tips For Caregivers

Having primary caregiving responsibility for a friend or family member can be an exhausting and emotional experience. The balance between meeting your own needs and that of your loved one must be maintained to support a healthy relationship. Taking care of yourself is every bit as important as the care you are providing. The following pointers may help you focus some attention and energy on maintaining physical, mental and emotional balance during the caregiving experience.

Seek Support. There is great strength in knowing you are not alone. Assess your personal support network of family and friends and identify where assistance is available. Identify the people you can count on and nurture those relationships. Call Tutu’s House or ask your health care provider of known support groups in your area. There may be a support group for family members whose loved one has a similar diagnosis or a group for caregivers. This is an opportunity for you to learn from the experiences of others, share your own valuable experiences and get the needed emotional support you need as a caregiver.

Take Care Of Yourself. Love, honor and value yourself. You’re doing a very hard job and you deserve some quality time, just for you. Take special notice of the things that make you feel good and reward yourself as often as you can. You are providing a vital service to enhance the quality of life of someone you care about and you deserve special treatment. Invite a friend out for lunch, go shopping or rent a movie. Do whatever it is that recharges your batteries and reminds you what a great person you are.

Educate Yourself about your loved ones condition. Information is empowering. This will help you understand how to be the most effective in your role and what to expect in the future. As questions come up, make a list and keep them handy. Seek out resources that can provide information and insight, such as your physician, home health care nurse or agencies such as Tutu’s House, the Alzheimer's Association or Cancer Society. Most agencies have local chapters and can provide excellent information as well as knowledgeable staff people and members to answer questions.

Assess How You Are Doing. If you feel overwhelmed or frustrated, take action. Don't let it build up and affect your caregiving relationship. Be on the look out for signs of depression and isolation and be prepared to seek outside help. This is not something you can do alone and no one expects you to.

Involve Other Family Members. Keep other family members informed. Provide information about your loved one's condition and prognosis. Make sure family members know all that is involved in providing caregiver support and identify ways for them to contribute, when appropriate. It will help you develop sources to confide in and provide emotional support you can depend on when a crisis arises. You can't expect others to understand your situation if you are not willing to share information.

Accept Help. This is a very difficult skill to develop, but one that is vital if you are to take care of yourself. Be prepared to be specific about how people can assist. Make a list of the things others could do that you value the most. Start small, ask for someone to stay while you run errands for an hour. You will be surprised how many people are willing to help if you're specific in your request and expectations. But most important, when people offer, be prepared to accept.

Set Limits. Know your limits as a caregiver. Caregiving is an overwhelming responsibility and no two days are alike. Try to build in time to take care of yourself every day, even if it is for a short time. Develop a support resource for yourself so when you're at your limit you have a place to turn.

Plan Ahead. When you are involved in the day-to-day responsibility of caregiving, planning is a difficult but important task. Planning will give you an understanding of how things might change and you can try to proactively develop a plan that could avoid a crisis and save emotional energy.

Talk To Your Loved One. Make time to discuss care issues with your loved one. Help them understand what is involved with their care and the importance of respecting your needs as well. They can be an active part of the process and need to be kept informed of what is happening as well as provide input on care decisions. They may have a great idea you never thought of.

(Source:http//www.nfcacares.org, http://www.agenet.com)

Caregiver Resources on the Web:

Caregivers.com (http://www.caregivers.com/) is a member of the AgeNet information and referral network. It's purpose is to "Bridge the Distance" between aging parents and adult children by providing actionable information about products and services that are important to enhancing the quality of life of older adults and their families.

National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) (http://www.nfcacares.org/) is a national, charitable organization dedicated to making life better for all of America's family caregivers. Through its services in the areas of information and education; support and validation; public awareness and advocacy, NFCA strives to minimize the disparity between a caregiver's quality of life and that of mainstream Americans.

Web Of Care (http://www.webofcare.com/) provides information, support, and home care supplies for caregivers. FREE membership includes free "Ask an Expert" service, free email, free web pages, and free access to articles, animated caregiving skills, links, chat rooms, bulletin boards and more.